Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar spoke to Lionel Messi on the phone on Thursday about the possibility of the Barcelona captain at the French club, sources told ESPN.
Messi’s future has become a hot topic of discussion after he shocked Barcelona by saying he wants to leave on Tuesday.
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As reported by ESPN on Wednesday, PSG is following the situation closely, but has yet to make an offer or contact Messi’s father, Jorge, who is also his agent.
However, Neymar has started his lobbying to be in Paris again with former teammate Messi. Neymar joined PSG from Barca in 2017 on a record transfer of € 222 million, but has stayed close to Messi. In fact, Messi proposed last summer for the Catalan club to bring Neymar back to Barcelona, which failed.
PSG midfielder Angel Di Maria, Messi’s close friend and teammate in Argentina’s national team, has also spoken to Messi.
With Financial Fair Play regulations, it would be difficult for PSG to make the deal, but not impossible, as sources claimed on Thursday night. With the departure of Edinson Cavani, Thiago Silva, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Thomas Meunier, PSG have significantly reduced their salary bills.
The key would be in the transfer fee that PSG Barca may have to pay for Messi’s services. If Messi, 33, can really play for free on a free transfer or for a relatively small fee, the Parisians will feel they can pull this off. Messi’s contract runs until 2021 and includes an exemption clause of € 700 million. However, Messi hopes to implement a clause allowing him to leave for free.
However, sources have also told ESPN’s Rodrigo Faez and Moises Llorens that Manchester City are considering Messi offering a long-term contract that will move him to MLS partner club New York City FC after three years in the Premier League.
Neymar is currently on holiday in Ibiza with his family, along with other PSG players such as Di Maria, Keylor Navas and Mauro Icardi and their families, enjoying a few days off before returning to Paris for the start of the season. League 1.
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